Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As summer nears its end, so does the summer school break. Parents have been planning for the children heading back to school, and parents with young ones at home are planning for babysitters or daycare. In smaller communities such as Fort McPherson, we don't have the option for daycare.
Mr. Speaker let me note a few points about the benefits of daycare:
- The emotional well-being by sending our children to daycare at a young age: they become comfortable in social situations.
- The developmental opportunities: daycare staff are trained and can teach our children developmental skills.
- Attending daycare in the early stages of life helps our children with physical, emotional, social, language, and cognitive development.
Mr. Speaker, there is a house specifically for daycare use, with inspections on a regular basis checking for safety and health hazards. This house sits empty. Last March, funding was cut and the daycare was closed indefinitely.
Daycare is necessary for most parents, both of whom are working. Having your child in daycare is much better than having to worry about if the babysitter will show up.
Single parents who want to go back to school or find employment rely on daycare opportunities. Just having the option, knowing that daycare is a viable source, believe me, has less stress.
Mr. Speaker, let me add that daycare helps children develop skills to make them successful for junior kindergarten, having a structure in place with teachings in a fun setting adds to our children enjoying school and wanting to learn.
Parents in Fort McPherson are requesting daycare. They want this in place as soon as we can in order for them to have a steady, reliable place for their children. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will have questions later today.